Language

One of the most important tools that a teacher has to convey the essence and meaning of yoga is language, speech, and verbal communication. Refining one’s speech in order to communicate in a way that is harmonius and uplifting is a skill and requires practice and attention.  Speaking in a way that is authoritative, but not authoritarian is the art of teaching.  Use voice that is calming, reassuring, and confident. Inspiring students with what you say and how you say it is at the heart of the matter.

Principle #1:  Action Verb Commands

Cueing Vinyasa

• Breath – “inhale” or "exhale"
• Action Verb – “raise”
• Body Part – “your arms”
• Direction – “to the sky”
• Dristi – “looking up at your thumbs” (optional)

Key Points

• use inhale/exhale ONLY when you have a synchronized movement to match;  if there is no movement, then say "take a breath"
• structure your cue to match the length of one breath – about 3-5 seconds
• use one breath yourself for each cue
• Avoid saying "inhale exhale" in rapid succession – instead, say "breath" (use inhale/exhale ONLY for vinyasa cueing)

Cueing Asana

• Action Verb – “raise”
• Body Part – “your arms”
• Direction – “to the sky”

Key Points

• Use 3-5 key alignment points when holding poses for a shorter amount of time

 

Principle #2:  Directional flow of cues

• Ground up:  Build the pose from the ground up, cueing the stance, grounding points, and then working your way up the body
• Koshas:  outer to inner, gross to subtle – physical / anna-maya-kosha to the energetic layer or prana-maya-kosha, then to the mental/emotional layer (mano-maya-kosha, and vijnana-maya-kosha last.

• Cue in 3’s:  lower body, pelvis or hip position, upper body

 

Principle #3:  Naming & Announcing

Name or announce the pranayama, pose, or sequence, ie "ujjayi breathing", "triangle pose – trikonasana", "sun salutation / surya namaskar A ", or "warrior 2 standing pose sequence", or "dancing warrior sequence".

 

Principle #4:  2nd Person

English distinguishes three grammatical persons: The personal pronouns I (singular) and we (plural) are in the first person. The personal pronoun you is the second person. It refers to the addressee. You is used in both the singular and plural; thou is the archaic informal second-person singular pronoun. 
He, she, it, and they are in the third person. Any person, place, or thing other than the speaker and the addressee is referred to in the third person.

Change your language from > to…

• “I’m going to tuck my tailbone” > “tuck your tailbone”
• “raise our arms to the sky” > “raise your arms to the sky”

 

Avoid mixing 1st or 3rd with 2nd person…

• "walk our feet up to your hands" > "walk your feet up to your hands"
• "step our feet togther and place your hands in prayer position" > "step your feet together and place your hands in prayer position"

Even when demo-ing a pose, use the exact same language as when you are teaching!!!

 

Principle #5:  Singular References

Change your language from > to…

• "tuck your tails” > “tuck your tail”
• "lay on your backs" > "lay on your back"
• "turn your heads to the right" > "turn your head to the right"
• "step to the front of your mats" > "step to the front of your mat"

 

Principle #6:  Superfluous Language

Avoid using the following: try to breath deeply; see if you can lift your leg; just reach your arm; being your cue with the action verb.  Check the banned word list below…

 

Principle #7:  Define Terms

• Sanskrit – names of poses, key terms
• Spiritual Tradition – namaste, om
• Anatomical
  • ischial tuberosities
  • femur
  • humerus
  • scapula
  • perineum
  • pubis
  • coccyx
  • internal/external rotation
  • reciprocal inhibition

Principle #8:  Choices

Don’t give choices as students do not have the experience or a reference point to evaluate such decisions: “stand with your feet [hip distance] apart or together”.  This way of cueing will generate chittavirttis. I love to scuba diving – what if I asked you if you wanted a regular tank of air, nitrous 32%, or nitrous 40% – which would you choose?  Giving options confuses new/beginner students.

 

Principle #9:  Synchronized Speech & Action

Make what you are doing and what you are saying congruent – demo exactly as you are speaking and speak exactly as you are doing.

 

More Key Points

• Avoid the use of affectations*
• Speak clearly and project your voice so that every student in the room can hear you.  Speak loud enough so the students in the back row can hear you.
• Refrain from negative or absolute wording:  never, must, should, only, always
• Over descriptive or esoteric concepts may draw students out of sensation and breath.
• If you make a minor mistake, either apologize quickly without reaction or continue on as if nothing happened. 
• Intersperse your class with moments of silence giving the students a chance to digest.
• Avoid say “tuck the pelvis” as this is incongruent; instead say “tuck the tailbone” or “tuck the pubic bone” or “tilt the pelvis forward” or “tilt the pelvis backward”
• To refine your cues, use dual action language, eg. “as you press through the root of the big toe, pull the hip back”; or “as you press through the outer edge of the back foot, roll the inner thigh up"

* affectation = behavior, speech, or writing that is artificial or designed to impress; pretension, pretentiousness

 

Banned Word List

• i want you to…
• yr gonna…
• ya wanna…
• you can…
• see if you can…
• try
• should
• yourself
• keep
• begin or start
• that or those
• just
• energy
• butt
• release
• relax (except in savasana)
• absolutes:  never, must, should, only, always

 

Collection of Quotes

The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.  When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink.  -George Orwell